"I had a good life,” said Obriecht recently at Hope Covenant Church. “I had enough money, I didn't have a lot of stress. Things were really good for me as an atheist."

Starting with his first restaurant opening in Tinley Park in 2001, Obriecht went on to open Culver’s locations in Orland Park, Tinley Park, Frankfort, Homewood and Matteson. But he later found something was missing.

Today, Obriecht is a member of Willow Creek Community Church. His talk at Hope Covenant Church in Orland Park was his second testimony.

“The nice thing about a testimony is it's a story about what happened in my life,” Obriecht said. “It's not about me shoving anything down anyone’s throat. A testimony is the quickest way to get to know somebody. I have put that out to all my employees. I have not received any negative reply about my relationship with Jesus Christ."

Obriecht came bearing Butterburgers, custard, a few of his employees and his testimony. More than 100 people came out to enjoy dollar Butterburgers and Culver's custard before listening to Obriecht’s story.

"I opened up a business when everyone thought the world was coming to an end," Obriecht said.

Days after the 9/11 attack, Justin was preparing to open his first Culver's restaurant in Tinley Park. Just 25, Obriecht was the youngest person to open up a Culvers restaurant. Three years later, the Tinley Park Culver's had $3 million in sales, more than any other Culver's.

Five years after he found the success in Tinley Park, Obriecht opened restaurants in the other four nearby towns.

"The south suburbs have supported us amazingly,” he said. “I give a lot of that credit to the people of the south suburbs."

Obriecht gave back along the way. He participated in cancer walks, fundraisers for area schools and other philanthropy.

"I was an atheist but I wasn't a bad person,” Obriecht said. “I wasn't cheating, I wasn't stealing but I swore a little too much. The only difference is when you have a belief in God and you know God, he expects you to be more disciplined.”

Obriecht was traveling when he stopped in Tennessee, and began meditating around 2 a.m. He suddenly felt a warmth and peace come over him. He said that Jesus came into his life at that moment.

Obriecht immediately called his mother, who had become a Christian a few years before. She had almost the same experience.

Rather than open more restaurants, Obriecht and his new wife Tara are working on helping others.

"As far as charity work, I started a program three weeks ago,” he said. “When I was saved I went around and told my testimony to all the homeless people that lived around me. One day one of the ladies named Carrie asked me to take her to church. A light bulb went off. Maybe there are others that would like this opportunity. I decided to set up a program where I hand out flyers throughout the week. Whoever shows up at the bus stop near my building, my wife and I pay for them to get on the bus. We go to church together. After church my wife and I buy them lunch and give them tickets to do laundry the following Saturday."

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An Omnipowerful God needed to sacrifice himself to himself (but only for a long weekend) in order to avert his own wrath against his own creations who he made in a manner knowing that they weren't going to live up to his standards.

Rather than open more restaurants, Obriecht and his new wife Tara are working on helping others.

"As far as charity work, I started a program three weeks ago,” he said. “When I was saved I went around and told my testimony to all the homeless people that lived around me. One day one of the ladies named Carrie asked me to take her to church. A light bulb went off. Maybe there are others that would like this opportunity. I decided to set up a program where I hand out flyers throughout the week. Whoever shows up at the bus stop near my building, my wife and I pay for them to get on the bus. We go to church together. After church my wife and I buy them lunch and give them tickets to do laundry the following Saturday."

I would much rather him open more restaraunts which will give more people jobs than spend his money taking homeless people to church.

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I show affection for my pets by holding them against me and whispering, "I love you" repeatedly as they struggle to break free.

This dude was never an atheist. End of story. There are way too many pathetic attempts by people who think that not attending church is being atheist. Real atheists don't convert to theism.

"No True Scotsman" is still a fallacy no matter who uses it.

I kid. I know what you mean, he was probably willing to believe, just didn't have the emotional reason to believe until that experience he had (which naturally was shared by a Christian, therefore it could only have been done by Jesus). I get so tired of people making the correlation fallacy.

This dude was never an atheist. End of story. There are way too many pathetic attempts by people who think that not attending church is being atheist. Real atheists don't convert to theism.

He was possibly an atheist by the strict definition of the word: He didn't believe in a/any god. However, I highly doubt that he ever gave the issue much thought and/or even to this day knows what the word 'atheist' even means.

At any rate: Your statement might, to avoid fallacy, be better rendered as : Atheists who have given serious thought to the subject and understand it don't convert to theism.

An Omnipowerful God needed to sacrifice himself to himself (but only for a long weekend) in order to avert his own wrath against his own creations who he made in a manner knowing that they weren't going to live up to his standards.

My name is Justin Obriecht and I was surprised to see a discussion surrounding my testimony.

While I've read and appreciate all of the differing views of what has happened in my life, I was hoping some of you would take the time to read my full testimony, written by me, soon after the events happened.

I'd be happy to discuss my motivations, my past anti-theistic life, and any thing else, if we can just start from the same position, which is my personal testimony.

I have one question for you. Are you willing to consider that what happened to you could have some other cause besides Jesus Christ visiting you? Note that I am not expecting you to concede that it was something else - that would be a bit much to expect from anyone. I just want to know whether you're open-minded enough to acknowledge that you might have been wrong about it.

I'm willing to accept Justin experienced something. By something, I mean a kind of natural mental breakthrough, akin to what yogis and zen masters describe. It is a natural and repeatable experience that can be achieved through discipline and practice. By his own admission, Justin was practicing those techniques already and in fact was meditating when his "epiphany" happened.

But I see no evidence to suggest, let alone conclude it was jesus H christ. He has done what people who have experienced something profound have done for thousands of years - attribute a natural but undefined process to the supernatural. And he attributed it to the myth he was most familiar with, the one that permeates the culture in which he lived.

From Justin's link

Quote

Now many people ask me how I can be so sure that it was Jesus Christ. I tell them that the biggest reason and strongest reason is the feeling that I had in my heart. It’s an intangible feeling that I can’t describe.

translation: I have no idea whether it was jesus H, Tiamat, or Thetans. ORI grew up catholic, so all that jesus stuff was already in my background. I was primed for xianity.

Had the chance to read the testimony... put away my popcorn. Same old magic stuff I have heard and recited myself for years before deconverting.

Justin, if you'd grown up Hindu or Muslim, it would not have been jeezus blinking that light.

I wonder if your previous "intensely atheist mind" attributed odd events to magical deities as well? For example, I get up every morning and there is a newspaper at the end of my driveway. I never have seen it placed there by anyone and I do not subscribe to the paper, yet there it has been year after year every week day in a city where you must pay to receive a paper. Think jeezus/zeus/mithras/allah puts it there or could I explain it another way? At times, I have had intense feelings and once a dizziness thinking it could be aliens. Your thoughts, as a former staunch atheist?

I hope you stop back by...

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If xian hell really exists, the stench of the burning billions of us should be a constant, putrid reminder to the handful of heavenward xians how loving your god is. - neopagan

While I am not so positive that atheists can't become theists, I still wonder. I've been an atheist for a long, long time and have no memory of ever having an "intensely atheist mind". I just don't believe. It is so easy anyone can do it.

My atheist mind is casual, at best. I can argue atheism all day long, but I put much more intensity into my work or my 3D drawings on my computer or into friendships and family. In comparison, my atheism is a blip in my life, energy-wise. I post here for fun, not reassurance, for instance.

Can you explain what an "intensely atheist mind" is? As per your testimony.

Indeed. The issue on the table is "What happened?" Religious experiences occur in virtually every culture (don't know about the Piraha, 'tho) and usually get translated into something appropriate to the host culture. I think that neuroscience will eventually find the answer, though.

Quote

translation: I have no idea whether it was jesus H, Tiamat, or Thetans.

Coming from ecumenical polytheism with a hint of Buddhism, I would tend to translate it as Tiamat (or as Guan Shi Yin, Oðinn, Athena, or any other deity with whom I had been enamored), but almost certainly not as Jesus because Christianity never resonated with Me.

Justin,I read your testimony. I note that you were extremely ill and afterwards experienced a great number of new sensations. A severe illness can cause changes in the brain due to swelling or other damage. That fact along with your statements about tingling sensations make me wonder if the illness caused some initial damage which was followed by several transient ischemic attacks (TIAs).

Quote from: Wikipedia

Symptoms vary widely from person to person, depending on the area of the brain involved. The most frequent symptoms include temporary loss of vision (typically amaurosis fugax); difficulty speaking (aphasia); weakness on one side of the body (hemiparesis); and numbness or tingling (paresthesia), usually on one side of the body. Impairment of consciousness is very uncommon. There have been cases of temporary and partial paralysis affecting the face and tongue of the afflicted. The symptoms of a TIA are short-lived and usually last a few seconds to a few minutes and most symptoms disappear within 60 minutes. Some individuals may have a lingering feeling that something odd happened to the body. Dizziness, lack of coordination or poor balance are also symptoms related to TIA. Symptoms vary in severity.

Other than the tingling[1], do you recall experiencing any of the other symptoms? Have you consulted with a doctor about those symptoms? Have you consulted with a doctor about the other significant changes to your mind and senses?

Regarding the disappearing red light. You clearly state the red light was small and in your left peripheral vision. Human peripheral vision is largely devoted to sensing motion. Also, objects not in our main focus can disappear from our vision. These facts along with your description point to a quite ordinary situation of the meditation focus causing the light to not register until a slight shift in your body/head causes a shift in the light - implying movement. Since we evolved to react to peripheral movement, your focus was brought back to the light and it reappeared. Once you are comfortable with ignoring the light again and drop back into meditation, the light disappears again until you move and it reappears. And it repeats. Nothing mystical about it, sorry.

I understand the desire for there to be magic in the world. But there is a very real possibility you have suffered minor[2] brain damage which has caused these changes. The worry is that if you don't see a doctor, you could suffer worse - sooner rather than later. If this was Jesus/God reaching out to you then a visit to the doctor - where you describe all your symptoms to him - will only show a healthy brain and body. If the sensation were caused by damage then a visit to the doctor could save your life.

I have one question for you. Are you willing to consider that what happened to you could have some other cause besides Jesus Christ visiting you? Note that I am not expecting you to concede that it was something else - that would be a bit much to expect from anyone. I just want to know whether you're open-minded enough to acknowledge that you might have been wrong about it.

Also, paragraph breaks in that testimony of yours. Please.

At the time I did consider other causes for about a week. Even though I was very confident, I wasn't positive.

However, after several tangible and causally related incidents in the weeks following my testimony all related to God, the Bible and Jesus Christ I was left with no other explanation. After a year and half of the same type of things happening over and over there is no other conclusion.

Every sign, signal, and prompting I've ever received, I've acted on, and every single one has not only been congruent with the Bible but has had a tangible and causally related outcome.

I don't mean to keep dumping reading material on you but this post will give you a good picture of those Biblically congruent, causally related events.